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Colonial Governors of Massachusetts
The territory of the modern Commonwealth of Massachusetts, one of the United States of America, was settled in the 17th century by several different English colonies. The territories claimed or administered by these colonies encompassed a much larger area than that of the present commonwealth, and at times included portions of central and southern New England outside the bounds of the modern state, as well as present-day Maine and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. Some colonial land claims extended all the way to the Pacific Ocean. Popham Colony: 1607–08 The Popham Colony was founded on the coast of present-day Phippsburg, Maine in 1607 as a colonization attempt by the Virginia Company of Plymouth. The colony lasted about one year before being abandoned. One of its principal backers was Sir John Popham; his nephew George was the colony's governor for most of its existence.Grizzard and Smith, p. 189 George Popham died in the colony in 1608, and was replaced by Raleigh Gilbert. He and the remaining colonists abandoned the colony after word arrived that John Popham and Gilbert's older brother, Sir John Gilbert had died.Vaughan, p. 64 Plymouth Colony: 1620–86, 1689–92 |alt=Half-length portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. He holds a paper with writing in his left hand.]] |alt=Half-length portrait of a man wearing black with a white lace collar. His right hand is held over his heart.]] The Plymouth Colony originated as a land grant issued by the London Virginia Company to a group of English religious separatists who had fled to Holland to avoid religious persecution. Their migration to the New World in 1620 aboard the Mayflower was funded by the Merchant Adventurers, who sent additional settlers to engage in profit-making activities in the colony.Hart, p. 1:67 The settlers had intended to establish a colony near the mouth of the Hudson River, within the bounds of the London Virginia Company's territory, but conditions on the crossing led them to establish it instead on the shores of Cape Cod Bay at what is now Plymouth, Massachusetts.Hart, p. 1:69 The colonists eventually acquired a land grant from the Plymouth Council for New England in 1621,Hart, p. 1:72 but its early governance took place under the terms of the Mayflower Compact, a document drafted by the colonists aboard the Mayflower before they landed. In 1630 the colony acquired a formal charter with authority to govern from the Plymouth Council, but it was unsuccessful in attempts to acquire a royal charter that would guarantee its territory against other claimants.Hart, p. 1:78 The colony held annual elections for its offices.Hart, p. 1:83 Between 1620 and 1680 the colony was ruled by a governor, who appointed a temporary replacement if he left the colony. In 1681 they began also electing a deputy governor, who would serve in the governor's absence.Hart, p. 1:607 The colony's rule was dominated by William Bradford, who served more than thirty terms as governor. The colony was incorporated into the Dominion of New England in 1686.Hart, pp. 1:569–572 After the dominion was dissolved in 1689, the colony temporarily reverted to its previous rule. In 1691 it was incorporated by charter into the Province of Massachusetts Bay, which took effect in 1692 with the arrival of the new royal governor, Sir William Phips. * Deputy Governors : The colony had no deputy governors until 1681; the governor named a pro tem governor when he was absent. Wessagusset Colony: 1622–23 The Wesseagussett Colony (sometimes called the Weston Colony or Weymouth Colony) was a short-lived trading colony located in present-day Weymouth, Massachusetts. It was settled in August 1622 by between 50 and 60 colonists who were ill-prepared for colonial life. After settling without adequate provisions and harming relations with local Native Americans,Adams and Nash, pp. 15–16 the colony was dissolved in late March 1623. The surviving colonists either joined the Plymouth Colony or returned to England.Adams and Nash, pp. 25–29 Governor-General of New England: 1623–24 * See also Wesseagussett Colony - 2nd Colony In 1623, Robert Gorges was commissioned as Governor-General of New England by King Charles I to oversee Plymouth, Wessagusset, and future New England colonies.Adams and Nash, pp. 29–30 Gorges established a small colony on the site of the recently failed Wessagusset Colony; his effort was abandoned after one year for financial reasons.Adams and Nash, pp. 30–31Levermore, p. 603 Some of his settlers thereafter remained in the area without formal governance, moving to occupy the Shawmut Peninsula (future site of Boston, Massachusetts) among other places.Adams and Nash, pp. 31–34 Massachusetts Bay Colony: 1629–86, 1689–92 The Massachusetts Bay Company was established in 1628, and was funded in part by investors in the failed Dorchester Company. In that year, the company elected Matthew Cradock as its governor and received a grant from the Plymouth Council for New England for land roughly between the Charles and Merrimack Rivers.Hart, pp. 1:96–99 The company dispatched John Endicott (1588-1665) and a small company of settlers to Massachusetts Bay not long after acquiring the grant.Moore, pp. 240, 348 In 1629 the company acquired a royal charter as a means to guarantee its grant against other claims, and elected Endecott as the first colonial governor, while Cradock continued to govern the company in London.Moore, pp. 348–349 In August 1629 the company's shareholders reorganized the company so that the charter could be removed to the colony, merging corporate and colonial administration.Hart, pp. 1:99–101 John Winthrop (1587-1649) was elected governor in October, but did not formally take charge of the colony until he arrived in 1630.Moore, pp. 242,350 Colonial officials (governor, deputy governor, and the council of assistants) were thereafter elected annually by the freemen of the colony. The governorship was dominated by a small group of early settlers, who sought to ensure that the vision of a Puritan settlement was maintained: in addition to Winthrop and Endecott, Richard Bellingham, John Leverett, and Simon Bradstreet all served extended terms. These men, and Thomas Dudley (who served four one-year terms as governor), were regularly in positions of importance when they were not serving as governor.Hart, pp. 1:112, 1:607 Following the restoration of Charles II to the throne in 1660, the colony's governance and religious attitudes came under greater scrutiny, which finally led to the revocation of its charter in 1684.Barnes, pp. 6–32Hart, p. 1:566 King James II then established the Dominion of New England, an appointed regime not well received in the colonies.Barnes, pp. 46–69 It took effect in 1686 and lasted until 1689, when the Glorious Revolution toppled James and led to the arrest in Massachusetts of the Dominion's unpopular governor, Sir Edmund Andros.Hart, pp. 1:600–601 The colony reverted to its previous rule on a provisional basis, because it then lacked any sort of legal charter.Hart, p. 1:602 In 1691 King William III merged the colonies of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay along with the territory of Maine, the islands south of Cape Cod (including Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket and the Elizabeth Islands), and recently captured Nova Scotia (which included present-day New Brunswick) to form the Province of Massachusetts Bay.Barnes, pp. 267–269 This new governmental structure took effect in 1692, with the arrival of the new royal governor, Sir William Phips.Capen, p. 54 References